Home Sweet Home

I just arrived safely back at home.  After 12 hours of straight driving, lots of snacks, a passenger seat loaded with toys to hand back to K throughout the drive, a couple of stops to break the trip up, 2 audio books completed, and 1 more started, I have to say that it's nice to relax.  I pulled into the winding driveway of our house almost wanting to kiss the ground after the long drive and then saw my hot husband waiting in the driveway with a huge smile to welcome us home.  Home never looked more beautiful!  10 days is a long time to be apart.  Our record prior to this was 5 days.  We doubled it and could definitely tell.  Though the best part of getting back home was seeing how excited K was to see Kai.  He gave him the world's longest hug (seriously he just didn't want to let go), and has been laughing and playing with him since the second we walked in the door.  It's one of the sweetest things to witness.


I have a crazy story to share when I have a few more minutes involving a semi truck, a police officer, and two 911 calls.  Don't worry, it's not quite as terrible as it sounds.  However, we have much more exciting news that we'll likely be sharing tomorrow if our little one isn't too shy.  Our ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow!!  Well, I must go for now because I have a family to enjoy now that we're all together again :-)

40 Days: Here and Gone

40 days have come and gone. We’ve seen much and learned more. We are busy packing and it’s always hard to say goodbye to a place, even that you’ve only known for six weeks, that you’ve begun to call home. We’ve enjoyed the friendships we’ve made and the memorable moments we’ve lived. I’ll miss the walks along the dirt path to the dental clinic to peek in and say hello to Kai everyday. I’ll miss the beautiful, rich smiles of the local people and shouting out, “Mahna Ohna Tup Ko!” every time we meet. I’ll miss chatting with the other missionary couples that have become good friends in our brief stay here. The city noises and smells that once were not so familiar will even be missed.

As all things, this chapter must close for us to move on to the next one: graduation and life after. But we will not forget our time here or the experiences lived. I know once we get back to our “regular” home, we’ll look back at pictures and miss it, remembering the great times in Madagascar. But for now we’re torn between the excitement of getting back home again and the sadness of leaving. I still have a few more posts that I didn’t manage to get up before we left, so the travel side of the blog is not quite over yet.

I wrote this yesterday, but didn’t have time (or a good internet connection to post it) so I am posting this from the Paris airport. We have a 6 hour layover here because our original flight was from Madagascar to Paris, Paris to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to London. Because of the lovely volcano that has been sharing it’s ash with most of Europe, our flight from Amsterdam to London was cancelled. They re-booked us from Paris directly to London. We weren’t too sad about that. It ended up taking off an hour of travel time and a lot less headache from all the connections. As I write, we’re in the Sky Lounge enjoying cushy seats, great food, free internet, and a little sleep. Kai and Kasen are out! Leaving at 1 a.m. and flying 11 hours can do that to you. So for the moment, I have a few cherished quiet moments. These are rare, so I’m seizing the moment and I’ll write more later :-)

London--The Forgotten Pictures

On the way to Madagascar, we had to stop in London. No, really. Tickets were $700 cheaper per ticket to stopover in London. So you do the math. We could spend an extra $1400 and see nothing but the inside of an airport, or we could take the extra cash and spend a little time in London seeing what makes this great city so special. Hmmmm, tough decision!

Favorite thing about London: Everyone speaks English! Getting around is sooo easy!

Next favorite thing: The subway or “Underground.” I really miss having public transit so readily accessible. When we lived in South Korea, that was one of the things that spoiled us. It makes everything so convenient, encourages walking, and it’s just fun! And for the record, movies make subways seem to be much more of a dangerous place than they really are.

Least favorite thing about London: It’s really expensive and the exchange rate is not in our favor. Being in Madagascar just after London was almost culture shock because of the massive disparity between the 2 places!

Favorite tourist attraction: So far, it was probably The London Tower (sooo much awesome history there), but the London Eye was pretty fun too. We will be spending a few more days on the way back and seeing a few remaining things we missed the first time, so I’ll have to let you know.

Favorite meal: Burgers at this place:

While we were there, we were so busy and didn’t have access to a good internet, so I failed to upload very many pictures of our adventures there, but we really had a fantastic time. London is now one our new favorite cities in the world and if you haven’t been there yet, in my opinion, it should go on the top of your list!

This guard was so awesome!! He let Kasen touch his sword and even looked at Kasen and smiled (which they never do). I think he did that because we were waiting forever to get our picture taken with him (it seems that a woman with a baby is an easy target to cut in front of--grrrr...).

In front of parliment

On the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames

Yes, please do! Oh, and here's my husband's card for when that floss produces cavities!

Fish and chips! The local flavor!

A waffle for dessert

Hey, this armor is just my size!!!

This cute grin is because he's scheming to run off with the crown jewels ;-)

The Eye

Family shot! Kasen wants to get down and explore!

On top of The Eye

The London Bridge

The London Tower

By the "Underground" (subway)

Westminster Abbey. BTW, Kai and I disagreed about buying this rain cover for the stroller. I insisted (and won out) because I had heard that London weather is not it's main attraction. SO thankful we had it! Used it everyday!

Big Ben

Feeding the pigeons healthy organic puffs to make them grow big and buff (in front of Buckingham Palace).

He later chased them and watched them take flight!

The daffodils in front of Buckingham Palace. (In my sleepless state, I first wrote tulips. In a way they might look like yellow tulips, right?) Thanks Jessica! ;-)

Traveling With a Baby Internationally?

Would I travel with a 13 month old to the other side of the world and live in an underdeveloped country for 6 weeks again? Yes. But let me share a few things I’ve learned. I'm writing this to have all the details saved in one place if we ever consider doing this again and thought I'd share since it may help you if you're considering traveling internationally with your baby/kids.

Here are some things that have been invaluable to us while we’ve been here:

• Portable high chair—It compacts, is easy to wash, and fits on most tables. Also holds children up to 37 pounds.
• Stroller
• Pack n play—Most airlines let you take a stroller and a pack n play for free with a lap baby (children under 2 that sit on your lap). These 2 things are a must have if you’re traveling internationally!
• Baby wrap (I had a friend make mine for me and it’s perfect for those times when a stroller is too big to maneuver through the small crowded spaces)
• Baby snacks/food from home Great for the plane rides, but also those times when you’re not sure about the sanitation of the local food.
• Skype It’s great to be able to talk to family and friends 10,000 miles from home.
• Sanitizing wipes For the airplane, etc. (not the same as baby wipes—these kill 99% of germs). This is one of the first set of flights where none of us got sick afterward. BTW, have you ever wiped down the airplane seats before you sit in them?? They are disgusting!! Think: several white wipes made dark, dark brown from all the grunge. We brought along an entire box. Also, they’re good if you get a cut/scrape and don’t have any alcohol on hand.
• Books for Kasen He loves to read along with age appropriate books for him and they are hard to find in another country.
• A few games/toys Make sure they pack well (small). These are great entertainment for the plane ride and once you're there. Also, the in flight magazines and sick bags are great to let your little one play with/rip up (the magazines say you can take them with you, so don't worry about ruining them). You can make a game of putting things in and taking them out of the bag. And be prepared to walk the aisles to get the wiggles out in between meal times. Most people are really friendly on the flights and will smile and wave, etc. as you pass.
• A few favorite movies to watch when you get a little homesick.
• Several sippy cups Should you ever leave home without one? We brought 5 and have had 3 break, so we’re happy we brought more than we thought we needed.
• Nursing. I’m nursing beyond when most mother’s quit, but if you read up on the benefits, they are vast! Also, if you’re traveling close to the time you’re thinking of weaning consider a few things:

1. It’s a big comfort for your baby when you’re traveling across the world and just about everything is new to them.
2. If they get sick, babies that refuse to take food usually will still b/f, so you know they are still getting nourished and hydrated. This happened with Kasen while we’ve been here. He ran a high fever for 3 days straight and refused food. When I called the doctor in the U.S., she was relieved to find out he was still b/f because dehydration is a huge concern for babies.
3. They can get your antibodies while b/f which helps prevent them from getting sick and helps them get over it more quickly if they do get sick.
4. These are just the benefits I’ve found for traveling. There are many more overall for b/f, but that’s a whole different topic…

Before you leave:

• Call your airline and request the baby bassinet if you’re traveling with a lap baby. There are only certain seats that have this option, so call as soon as you book your ticket because they’re on a first come, first served basis, but they free you up during sleep time which is a HUGE relief on long flights. Kasen was over the height and weight limit, but it just meant that he was very snug while sleeping.

• Make sure immunizations are up to date for you and your kids.
• Put together a travel kit with medicines for you and your baby/kids just in case. Talk with your doctor about potential illnesses and get a few prescription medications you can pack to treat a broad spectrum of sicknesses. Also include a good supply of ibuprofen and Tylenol for your child. Kasen has run a fever several times while here and he also cut 4 new teeth, so we used our entire supply already.
• Pedialyte packets. You can reconstitute them with bottled water, but it’s perfect if your little one gets diarrhea or is vomiting. Thankfully Kasen avoided both of these, but we packed a hefty supply just in case.
• Passports for your kids.

What we wish we had done differently:

• Packed a few more books for Kasen’s age. I packed a few board books, but have them completely memorized now and am looking forward to getting back to our small home library for a little more variety.
• Packed more ibuprofen and Tylenol for Kasen.
• Packed everything we needed for 3 days in our carry-on. Since our luggage was delayed by up to 8 days for some pieces, I wish we had packed more essentials. Usually we do, but with all of Kasen's stuff, we decided to try and pack lighter. That was a big mistake!
• Realize that things wear very quickly, so only pack those things that you don’t mind getting a little extra wear and tear. Some of our whites are blue, some of our colors have been bleached, and many things have permanent stains. (This is true for our particular kind of trip, but if you’ll be staying in nice hotels, etc. this may not apply to you.)
• Packed an extra bottle of shampoo and conditioner. Paying $7 per bottle is a little hard to swallow when I could have packed the same bottle for $2.
• Packed a “leash” for Kasen. I don’t care what your line of thinking is on this one—when you’re traveling in another country, it’s nice to know they are close and attached.

FYI: I had a friend who lives in another part of Africa tell us that for babies/kids it generally takes about 1 day per hour you change in time. After having experienced crossing time zones with a baby for myself, I have to agree with her. Being 10 hours off from Pacific time, it took us about 10 days from the time we left for Kasen to get adjusted to the time here. Kai and I have always been able to adjust within a day or two if we stayed awake until the evening of the local time (no napping!), but with a baby it’s a whole different challenge.

Yes, he really did fall asleep standing up due to jet lag.

Note: Do your research and find out what's available before you travel. Madagascar, though very underdeveloped, still has basic necessities available for purchase.

I'll Never Complain About Laundry Again

Laundry is a completely different experience here. See for yourself:

A local washing house

Washing clothes in a small river

Washing in a larger river

Drying the clothes

More drying

We haven’t had to do our laundry this way thankfully. We have borrowed washing machines from the other missionary families here and have hung our clothes on the line everyday, which is more work than at home, but nothing in comparison with how most of the local people have to do their laundry. I’m thankful for the modern conveniences we have in the U.S. and next time I moan about having to wash, dry, and fold another load of laundry (I swear kids triple your laundry output), I will remember the laundry experience here.

The Airlift (Posted By Kai)

One of Peter's workers had a motorcycle accident last week and fractured several ribs and broke his collarbone. Unfortunately it occurred about 35km from the nearest hospital, and even once he did get there, the hospital could only stabilize him but was not able to give him the proper care he required. He needed to be air-lifted back to Tana, so Peter asked me if I wanted to go along for the ride!

It started early at 5:45 in the morning. Peter, Jacques, and I left at dawn for the airport and made the journey across town picking up a missionary doctor on the way. We arrived, checked in, and piled into the 12 passenger MAF plane. I got to sit in the co-pilot seat on the way down. It was totally awesome!!!

It was less than a 1 hour flight in a prop plane, but would have taken over 10 hours to drive the guy from the town on the coast up to Tana. That gives an idea of the condition of the roads, and when your ribs are busted up, every bump feels like torture.

I haven’t really had time to think about flying a plane with being in school and the prohibitive expense, but sitting in the co-pilot’s seat brought back the memories. I was fine with the take off and the flight. It was fun and beautiful, but the addiction of flying for me is in the landing. Lining up for the runway, bringing it down nice and easy, sitting in ground effect for a few seconds, and then gently kissing the ground is what is so awesome about flying to me and I suddenly missed it very much.

When we got to the hospital, it was only about 150 yards from the Indian Ocean, but was not the cleanest, most up-to-date place (the maternity ward beds had mattresses without sheets and the smell of urine was in the air). I’m not sure that even if I were deathly sick that I would want to go there. But the man was stable and they had the equipment to take a chest x-ray. We loaded him into the plane and made the trip (much faster and smoother than the alternative) back to the awaiting ambulance. He was in stable condition and definitely has a much better chance for full recovery here in Tana than where he was.

I got to see cascading waterfalls, lush rainforest, tiny villages throughout the countryside, and our compound all from the air. It was incredible.

I felt really blessed to go on this incredible adventure!

The plane

Tana

The runway at Mananjary

The Indian Ocean

Rice Paddies

The Doc

(If you zoom in on some of these pictures, you can see tiny villages along the river. They are mostly made of huts in a clearing and they were all over the place.)

Beautiful waterfalls!

The rainforest

A reservoir

Our compound

(It is the forested area surrounded by city. If you zoom in at the right place you can actually see our house!)